Examining the association between opium use, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with the liver enzyme levels in a population-based study: Fasa Persian cohort data

Objectives Opium use, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption are serious health problems in many countries including Iran. The present study aimed to examine the association between the opium use, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with liver enzyme levels in Southern Iran. This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020. The entire population of the Fasa Persian cohort study in the southern region of Iran was selected as the sample. Accordingly, 10,145 people participated in the study. Results Results indicated that there was a significant relationship between cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with liver enzymes (AST, ALT, and ALP). There was also a significant relationship between inhaled opium and liver enzymes, but oral opium revealed no significant relationship with the activity of liver enzymes. Accordingly, policymakers of the health care system are recommended to hold educational programs to improve the health literacy level of the society and take effective preventative strategies in reducing the use of these substances.

Effects of Health Literacy Intervention on Health Literacy Level and Glucolipid Metabolism of Diabetic Patients in Mainland China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. To systematically evaluate the effects of health literacy intervention on health literacy level and glycolipid metabolism of people with diabetes in mainland China. Methods. A systematic review of journal articles discussing diabetes and health literacy was performed by searching PubMed, Embase, the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database of Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, the Chinese Scientific and Technical Journals database (CQVIP), and the Wanfang database. Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Review Group (EPOC) standards were applied for quality assessment. A meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software. Results. A total of 44 articles, including seven controlled before-and-after trials (CBAs), 27 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and 10 nonrandomized controlled trials (non-RCTs), were included. The results showed that (1) health literacy level in the intervention group was improved compared with the preintervention and the control group; (2) fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (standardized mean difference SMD = − 1.85 , 95% CI: −2.28, −1.42), 2-hour plasma glucose (2hPG) ( SMD = − 2.18 , 95% CI: −2.68, −1.68), and HbA1c (weighted mean difference WMD = − 1.21 , 95% CI: −1.48, −0.94) were significantly reduced in the intervention group; (3) total cholesterol (TC) ( WMD = − 0.43 , 95% CI: −0.64, −0.23) was significantly reduced in the intervention group, although there were no statistically significant differences for triglycerides (TG) ( WMD = − 0.34 , 95% CI: −0.73, 0.05), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ( WMD = − 0.20 , 95% CI: −0.46, 0.07), or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ( WMD = − 0.06 , 95% CI: −0.29, 0.17). Conclusion. Intervention based on health literacy can effectively improve health literacy levels and reduce glucose metabolism and TC level among people with diabetes mellitus, although it has no significant effect on TG, LDL-C, or HDL-C.

Assessing the health literacy level of students in higher education: evolution throughout the training

Objectives: This work has two objectives: contribute to evaluate the level of health literacy of students in higher education, in the area of health and to contribute to the formulation of strategies to adapt the content of training to the needs of students. Methods: In this longitudinal observational study, a health literacy assessment questionnaire (NVS) was applied to students from 3 Health Schools and 2 different courses (Nursing and Dental Hygiene), at the beginning of the first school year, and at the end of the third year. Results: Less than 5% of the students participating in this study had inadequate health literacy at the entrance to the course. Women had a better level of health literacy than men, although no statistical significance was found (p=0.153). The health literacy gains are different among the courses. Nursing students began with a higher level of health literacy but were overtaken by oral hygiene students at the end of the 3rd year. However, the level of health literacy did not differ statistically throughout the training, although an increase in the level of health literacy was observed. Conclusions: The relationship between health literacy and health is recognized. Higher education institutions need to formulate strategies to adapt the content of training to the needs of students and to the level of health literacy in order to train students for lifelong learning.

Modeling on Social Health Literacy Level Prediction

Nowadays, the health level of residents has become the focus of people’s attention. Under the background of the development of health service from “disease-centered” to “health-centered,” it is very important to improve the level of urban health and clarify the factors affecting urban health. Therefore, this paper quantifies the relationship between residents’ health literacy level and environment, average life expectancy, infectious disease mortality, and other indicators by selecting appropriate indicators and establishing a mathematical model. Based on the reciprocal linear combination of the collected index data and the corresponding health level value, the prediction model of social health literacy level (SPM) was established, and the qualitative prediction and quantitative analysis of citizens’ health literacy level were studied in depth. Based on the SPM model, we can roughly predict the level of health literacy in a region only based on the main variables identified in this paper. The consistency of the experiment shows that the model is effective and robust, and it reveals that environmental factors are the most important factors affecting residents’ health literacy level. The actual data show that THE SPM model is a timely and reasonable framework to measure the health literacy level of residents.

Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Vaccination among Older Adults in Saudi Arabia: A Community-Based Survey

Identifying the factors driving vaccine hesitancy can improve vaccine attitudes and motivate individuals to have the recommended vaccinations. However, failure to address the issue directly, or worse, ignoring it, could deepen such concerns, resulting in lower vaccination rates, leading to elevated rates of illness and vaccine-preventable deaths among older adults. The aim of this study was to explore the rate of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among older adults in Saudi Arabia, along with the associated predicting factors and reasons for hesitancy. This study extracted data from a cross-sectional online survey on the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination in Saudi Arabia, which was conducted from 8 to 14 December 2020. The sample of the study included 488 older adults aged 50 and older. The major data analytic tools employed in the study were bivariate and multivariable regression analyses. Among the 488 participants, 214 (43.85%) reported willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine when available. Older men were more likely to be willing to be vaccinated (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.277; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.092–4.745) than older women. High levels of education were significantly associated with willingness to be vaccinated. Older adults who had previously refused any vaccine were less likely to take the COVID-19 vaccine (aOR: 0.358; 95% CI: 0.154–0.830). Those who expressed a high or very high level of concern related to becoming infected were more likely to accept the vaccine against COVID-19 (aOR: 4.437; 95% CI: 2.148–9.168). Adverse side effects (27.01%), and safety and efficacy concerns (22.63%) were the most commonly cited reasons for vaccine hesitancy. The vaccination acceptance rate among older adults in Saudi Arabia is low. Interventions designed specifically for older adults addressing worries and concerns related to the vaccine are of paramount importance. In particular, these interventions should be tailored to address gender-based and health literacy level differences.

Faktor-Faktor Yang Berhubungan Dengan Tingkat Literasi Kesehatan Pasien Pelayanan Kedokteran Keluarga

ABSTRACT Introduction: Health literacy is crucial for health management, but still has become a problem in many countries. The objective of this study was to assess patient’s health literacy levels in Kiara Family Medicine Clinic of the Medical Faculty University of Indonesia and its determinants. Method: This was quantitative research with cross- sectional design. The population was all patients visiting the clinic during the data collection period. The samples were patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, chosen with consecutive sampling technique. Minimal sample size was counted using different proportion hypothesis test formula, results in minimum of 134 respondents. The independent variables were age, language, ethnicity, sex, level of education, length of education, occupation, income, access to health services, and health information access. The dependent variable was levels of health literacy.The instruments were questionnaires on health literacy determinats and Newest Vital Sign adapted in bahasa Indonesia (NVS-I). Univariate, bivariate (chi-square test), and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses were conducted. Results: 27.4% of respondents had high health literacy level and 72.6% of respondents had low health literacy level. Factors associated with health literacy levels were health information access and length of education. The most dominant influencing factor of health literacy was accessibility to health information. Conclusion: Most of the patients had low health literacy level with NVS-I measurement. The factor most associated with health literacy level was health information access. More efforts are needed in promoting patient’s health literacy through improving health information access. Keywords: family medicine, health information access, health literacy